"Things I Know, or Think I Know, and Feel Compelled to Share With the World"

As the year 2010 comes to it's inevitable end, I am reminded that one is never to old to learn or to form and share opinions. I guess I have never been shy about sharing what I think is truth with others, and as I get older I imagine that I will be even more willing to give all of you "young-uns" out there the benefit of my years of living and learning. So here, with some randomness, are some of the things that have achieved clarity in "Dave's world":

Politicians, whether Republican or Democrat, are often narcissistic, non- caring, lifelong bureaucrats. If you (including me) think that kicking a bunch of Liberals out of Government will solve all of our problems, you are sadly mistaken. We need to change the way that politicians think, by holding their feet to the fire, and throwing them out the next time that they are up for reelection.This whole process will take time, perhaps a generation or two, but it needs to happen starting now.

The "x" in the term "xmas" comes from the Greek letter "chi" or "xi". It is often used to abbreviate the name "Christ" and combined with the letter "Rho" it is called the 'labarum" and is used to represent the person of Jesus Christ.

Lee Harvey Oswald was not the lone shooter of JFK on November 22, 1963. I have vacillated and struggled with this whole scenario over the years. The assassination has all of the earmarks of a Mafia triangulation hit. In fact, Oswald may have not been involved at all as a shooter; he may have indeed been the ideal "patsy". I am convinced that the hit was substantially planned and carried out by the Mafia.

Whether you or I want to believe it or not, there is a "God" or higher being responsible for the creation of what we call the "Universe". The concepts of time, creation, life and death are far beyond our ability to comprehend. We can only accept these things by faith, or choose not to believe in all of this "fairy tale" stuff.
I choose to be a believer, but also choose not to try to make you a believer if you are not!

Political correctness is the bane of our existence. I am not saying that everyone does not deserve equal rights and the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What we don't need is our Government trying to tell us how to accomplish these ideals, live our lives, what to eat, whether or not we can smoke (I choose not to), and giving certain protected minorities a non level playing field; all in the name of political correctness and at the expense of the majority of Americans. I am sorry that slavery occurred, that Native Americans were mistreated, that people in other Countries don't have it as good as we in America do. I wonder when all of this insanity will end. I am afraid that I know the answer: NEVER!!

Our Nation's educational system is in total disrepair. We are striving for mediocrity and ignoring the brightest and best students, in the name of..wait for it.. POLITICAL CORRECTNESS!! Everyone does NOT need an education, everyone does NOT deserve special treatment at the expense of those students who will be our leaders in the future. Throwing money at educational problems and deficiencies will NOT solve these problems; it only adds to those problems. The Department of Education needs to be dismantled. States need to take control of their CITIZENS' education. Children of illegal aliens (I know it's politically incorrect to refer to them as illegal aliens, but I don't care) do NOT deserve to be educated for free in our still somewhat great country. The U.S. ranks, depending on the survey, well out of the top ten, when compared to other Countries, in educational achievement. This is shameful and has happened because of.. here we go again.. POLITICAL CORRECTNESS!!

The Government does not create ANY money. The revenue available to run the Government comes from overburdened American taxpayers! Local and State Governments can be quite creative in raising money. Fines for breaking the law, user fees, tolls, professional fees, licenses, property and sales taxes are some common examples of how Government entities fund their operations. When all is said and done, the average citizen pays over 50% of their income in taxes and fees. Holding the line on the Bush income tax rates is commendable and Obama had no choice but  to support this policy. It is laughable to me to hear him try to take the lion's share of the credit for this move. I never met a Democrat, or socialist, as in Obama's case; that didn't think that they couldn't tax their way out of debt or financial difficulties. This was a desperate attempt to try and save his rapidly- fading Presidency. Oh, and notice the "crisis averted" language that is coming from the White House spin machine regarding the tax cuts. If they really believed in tax cuts they would have acted years ago!

Now, let me state another undeniable fact of life. Economic prosperity is "trickle down" and economic poverty is "trickle up." Jobs are created by employers and entrepreneurs who have a product or service to sell to a customer, make a profit, and they then hire people to help make, sell or service that product. When the Government taxes this class of people unreasonably, they make less of that product, lay employees off and keep as much of their investment as they can in order to live their everyday life, all at the expense of their business.It's a pretty simple concept, right?? Apparently it is not, from what I see happening to our business and manufacturing sector in the past decade or so. Paying unemployed people up to three years of unemployment payments is NOT the answer, either! The "trickle up" poverty theory is not as well known. This involves the Government creating a dependency class through entitlement programs such as the following:

Combined Federal, State and Local Welfare Budget, 1992 (millions) Medicaid $118,067 AFDC 24,923 Food Stamps 24,918 Supplemental Security Income 22,774 Lower income housing asst. 12,307 Earned Income Tax Credit 9,553 Veterans medical care 7,838 Stafford loans 5,683 Social Services (Title 20) 5,419 Pell Grants 5,374 Low-rent public housing 5,008 General medical assistance 4,850 Foster Care 4,170 School Lunch 3,895 Pensions for needy veterans 3,667 General Assistance 3,340 Head Start 2,753 Food supplements, Women, infants and children 2,600 Training for disadvantaged youth and adults 1,744 Low-income energy assistance 1,594 Rural housing loans 1,468 Indian Health Services 1,431 Summer youth employment 1,183 Maternal and child health 1,059 JOBS and WIN 1,010 Job Corps 955 Child care block grant 825 School Breakfast 782 Child care for AFDC 755 Nutrition Program for Elderly 659 Housing interest reduction 652 Child and adult care food program 624 "At risk" child care 604

Source: Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, "Cash and Noncash Benefits for Persons with Limited Income: Eligibility Rules, Recipient and Expenditure Data, FY 1990-92," Report 93-832 EPW and earlier reports.

I have no problem with deserving (again what constitutes "deserving") citizens (I said citizens) receiving help from the Government. We have thrown trillions and trillions of dollars into our "Great Society" programs and have created a permanent underclass of people who will vote for those who will keep them them feeding from the public trough. That, in a nutshell, is how "trickle up poverty" works (or doesn't work.)

If the United States is to continue to exist as a Representative Republic, we need to get back to basics: follow the Constitution, elect or appoint judges who will not legislate  from the bench, quit pandering to special interest groups, restore the work ethic and elect people at every level who believe in, and will stand up for, the principles that once made America a great Nation.

I have tried to share some of my thoughts and beliefs with you. I know that you will agree with me on all, some or none of the above. It doesn't matter, as we live in a country where open and frank discussion of issues is one of our basic freedoms. I am fearful that our Government is on the brink of trying to take some of these basic rights away from us. That, however, is fodder for discussion at another time!

Christmas letter 2010

Well, here we are in the Christmas season again. Another year is almost in the books in our inevitable march toward eternity. I don’t mean to sound like a downer, but we have learned first- hand this year about death being the final act in this play we call life. Three people who were very important in our lives were taken from us this past year. Adolf Moller, Donna’s biological father, passed away in late June. Linda Hall, Carol’s best friend, passed on in early July, and our Mom, Evelyn Jackson, died at age 91 on September 27th. All leave a void in our lives and will be sorely missed. Nonetheless, life is all about living. We experienced some real highs this year also.

We were in New York for over 3 months this summer, spending precious time with friends and family. Donna was up in late September to celebrate her 40th birthday. Unfortunately this was around the time that Mom passed on, so as a result, we got to spend time with daughters Mary and JoAnna also. We had a great celebration of Mom’s life at the Rainbow Lodge after her services, and it was the first time in many years that all five of Mom’s sons were in the same place together. It is unfortunate that it takes death to bring family together in many cases.

Before going to NY we went to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to visit Mary, Victoria and Kaitlyn. Mary was promoted to Staff Sergeant, E-6 in mid- June. Later on in the summer we went to Fort Lee, Virginia, to attend Mary’s graduation from the Army’s Advanced Leadership School for NCO’s. We are very proud of her for choosing to serve her Country as a member of our Armed Forces.

Donna continues to work for Dell, and in fact, earned a big promotion this year. She went overseas on three different occasions. She went to Bratislava, Slovakia; Casablanca, Morocco; and Paris, France. If you “friend” her on facebook you can see her fabulous pictures from these places, plus her trips to Vienna and Prague!! Needless to say, we are very proud of her and are glad to “puppy sit” in her absence. The dogs, Italia and Gigi, are very active and bring a lot of joy to our lives.

JoAnna and Russell recently bought a house in Madison, Mississippi, and we visited them on the way back from NY. Russell continues to be the award- winning Plant Manager for Bates Casket Company in Vicksburg and JoAnna works as a High School Transition Counselor for the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services. David and Rachel continue to be very active. Both are in the gifted program at their school. David is quite the baseball player and golfer, and both are taking Kung Fu lessons; watch out!!

In March we went to Florida for the wedding of two of my former students, Jamie Adams and Josh Wolfe. We stayed at Lake Manatee State Park and got to renew many old acquaintances while there. While traveling to, or while in NY, we visited with friends and family including; Cousin Mary and Eric Thoreson in Midway, Kentucky; Pat and Doug Thompson and their two sets of twins in Middletown, Maryland; Izetta Foree in Mt. Upton; Carol’s brothers Ed and Ronnie and their families; Donna’s Uncle Horst, Aunt Judy and cousin D.J. Moller in Unadilla; Carol’s cousin Cathy and Gary Bennett, my brothers Sim, Jim and John in Walton. As always we stayed mainly at Brother Tom and Sandra’s house in Oneonta and enjoyed their kids and grandkids as well as Sandy’s relatives. Tom overcame another medical challenge this summer. His fortitude is amazing! Our special niece, Chiropractor Dr. Jennifer Constable, took real good care of us while we were there. I enjoyed playing golf with Gary, Cathy, Sim, D.J. and Horst. We spent some very special time attending services and participating in the life of the Plymouth Church. One of the highlights of our summer was going to Yankee Stadium to watch the Yankees beat the Red Sox in late September. Wait ‘til next year!!

Carol and I are in relatively good health. Carol had a heart catheterization done last week and no problems were found. She is still making fleece blankets for sale and gifts. I am doing wood working projects, am working some part- time jobs, and try to walk several times a week. I have started a blog which you can read at http://davejack-uncommonsense.blogspot.com. (Please!!)

Despite our personal losses, we have had a good year and we wish all of you; friends or family; health, prosperity and happiness in the New Year.

Love to all,

Dave, Carol, Donna, Italia & Gigi

Campaign Slogans

Before we know it a bunch of Republicans will be lining up to run against our beloved Presitator (Obama). In the past there have been some memorable campaign slogans for candidates. A partial list would include:

"I like Ike": President Eisenhower in 1952;

" Win With Wilkie":  Candidate Wendell Wilkie vs. FDR in 1940;

"Peace and Prosperity": Eisenhower, 1956;

"A Chicken in Every Pot. A Car in Every Garage": Herbert Hoover, 1928;

"All the Way With LBJ": LBJ in 1964; and the famous

"Yes We Can": Obama, 2008. ( Although it turns out that we can't).

I have come up with some suggested campaign slogans for some likely candidates. Remember, you can't use them without paying me big bucks!! Some of these are for laughs only...

Sarah Palin:
"Failin' with Palin"
Whalin' with Palin"
"As Cute As Farrah, and She'll Fight Terra"
"Sara- military"

Newt Gingrich:
"Elect a Coot, Vote For Newt"
"Hide Your Loot, Here Comes Newt"
"Give Obama the Boot, Vote For Newt"
"He's a Brute, and He's So Cute"
"Be Astute, Vote For Newt"
"A Gingrich In Time Saves Nine"
"If You're Overrich Vote For Gingrich"
"Grinches For Gingrich"

Mitt Romney:
"America Needs a Retrofit; Vote For Mitt"
"If Mitt Don't Fit You Must Acquit"
 "Recommitt, Vote For Mitt"
"Vote for Mitt, Your Stock Will Split"
"Vote For Mitt or It's America's Obit"
"Don't Be a Twit. Vote For Mitt"
"Drive An Omni, Vote For Romney"

Mike Pence:
"Don't Be Dense, Vote For Pence"
"Get Off the Fence, Vote For Pence"
"Pence= Strong Defense"
"Show Your Sense, Vote For Pence"
"I Like Mike"

Tim Pawlenty:
"America: Land of P(aw)lenty"
"Be a Tim-wit, Not a Dim-wit"
"Go Out on a Limb, Vote For Tim"
"Fill America To the Brim With Tim"
"Make America Tim-biotic"

Mike Huckabee:
"If you're a wannabe vote for Huckabee"
"Don't be an S.O.B., vote for Huckabee"
"Let it be, Vote for Huckabee"
"Keep America Free, Vote For Huckabee"
"Hold the Dike, Vote for Mike"
"What's Not to Like About Mike"
"Vote for Mike or take a Hike"
"Mike: Leader of the Fourth Reich"
"Go On Strike, Vote For Mike"
" To be Heard, You Need a Mike"

Remember, most of these are in jest. Now how about slogans for some of our favorite Dems...

Hillary Clinton:
"Visit a Distillery, then Go and Vote For Hillary"
"Fire Your Artillery, Vote For Hillary"
"If You Like Shrill, Vote For Hill"
"If You Liked Bill, You'll Tolerate Hill"
"Get the Itch, Vote For the *****"

Joe Biden:
"Biden=Economy Slidin'"
"Vote for Biden, Your Debt Will Widen"
"Vote For Joe, Economy Will Slow"
"Vote For Joe, You'll Spend More Dough"
"Joe Means Jobs; Snow Jobs"

Barack Obama:
"I Hope You Change"
"Walk the Walk, Vote For Barack"
"The "Wright" Stuff"
"Keep the Drama, Vote For Obama"
"I Want  to Be Your Commissar When We Become USSR""

Feel free to add your own slogans to this list. The 2012 election promises to be lots of fun!!